Do education grants work? Business group wants state to use 'proper assessment'

Business leaders offered a simple, if politically sensitive suggestion Thursday on how to pay for education improvements needed in the state: link the laundry list of education grants that the state dishes out each year to performance.

"It is time to gather the will to fundamentally assess whether we are spending our dollars in the right areas to drive educational attainment," said Ramani Ayer, retired leader of The Hartford insurance company, as he released the Connecticut Council for Education Reform's recommendations.

By the council's estimates, the state is giving towns $600 million - nearly 20 percent of what the state spends on education - "without proper assessment of whether these grants are working."

Education Commissioner Stefan Pryor said he agrees that more oversight is necessary.

"It's achievable," he said. "What we are looking for is to ensure there's coherence, accountability and effectiveness in the delivery of resources to schools and students."

Sen. Andrea Stillman of Waterford, co-chairwoman of the legislature's Education Committee, said she is considering backing an initiative to have more accountability over the money the state is dishing out, but she worries about the cost of beginning such an undertaking.

"We should be able to see what is being spent and have a system to make sure the monies are spent appropriately," she said.

She also said that such a system may identify areas where some districts are spending much more to provide the exact same program.

"It is likely there are inequities in what districts are spending," she said.

New money to encourage districts to embrace whatever the reform of the moment is - be it after-school programs, full-day kindergarten or enriched curriculum - has become routine.

But Ayer and Steven Simmons, a cable television executive and vice chairman of the council, said the state has failed to assess the results.

"We need to look at reallocations," Simmons said.

As proof that the education systems in many states are doing a better job while spending less, Ayer pointed to a recent national report card that shows Connecticut spends more per student than almost every other state, after factoring in the region's higher cost of living. Education Week reported that $13,959 is spent educating each student here, compared with the $11,665 national average.

Spending smarter

It's not that business leaders think all $600 million is being spent on failing programs, but no assessments are done to identify what is most effective. Is an after-school program more effective than a babysitting program? Is the grant-funded program that is paying to help young parents finish school working? They don't know.

Kevin Chambers of the state Department of Education's budget office, said several grants are awarded based on formulas. For example, special education expenditures above certain levels are automatically reimbursed.

Districts are required to be audited each year to ensure they spend the money on the intended purpose. But no analysis is made of whether they could have done it more cheaply or if the money is actually helping to improve education. A 2002 report by legislative researchers on the accountability of education grants shows districts are required to report to the education department the projects they spent the money on, but there is no holistic review.

The Appropriation Committee's Results Based Accountability subcommittee, which measures a program or grant's effectiveness, has not reviewed these education grants.

The business group's proposed solution is to roll this piecemeal funding for education into one grant with required and measurable outcomes and benchmarks. The Education Week report card gives Connecticut a grade of 60 percent, a D-minus, one of the worst grades for holding schools accountable.

Once this existing spending is freed up, the business group acknowledges more money overall may still be needed for their initiatives to become a reality.

This story originally appeared at CTMirror.org, the website of The Connecticut Mirror, an independent, nonprofit news organization covering government, politics and public policy in the state.